BlackRock Pushes Bitcoin Income ETF Toward Launch

BlackRock filed a fourth amendment for its iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, advancing a fund designed to combine spot Bitcoin exposure with option-driven income. The proposed Nasdaq product, ticker BITA, would write covered calls mainly on IBIT shares and sometimes on ETP indices for income.

The filing sets a 0.65% sponsor fee, below the 0.95% and 0.99% charged by the two largest covered-call Bitcoin ETFs. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said the fund could launch soon as BlackRock races Goldman Sachs toward the same market window and investor demand curve now.

BlackRock’s existing IBIT remains the largest spot Bitcoin ETF, holding about $47.21 billion in net assets and anchoring the firm’s new income strategy. The product would target investors who want Bitcoin-linked exposure but also seek premium income during volatile or sideways trading periods through options.

The structure adds another layer to the Bitcoin ETF market, where issuers are competing beyond simple spot access into yield, options and portfolio income designs. BlackRock’s amendment suggests asset managers are turning Bitcoin exposure into a broader income product category for brokerage investors seeking payouts.

Raydium Treasury Covers $1.34 Million Legacy Exploit

Raydium said a $1.34 million exploit hit its retired AMM V3 program, draining assets from inactive Solana DEX liquidity pools. The affected pairs included RAY-SOL, USDC-RAY and SRM-RAY. The protocol said its treasury will reimburse impacted users while current programs remain unaffected after overall review.

The vulnerability came from insufficient LP mint validation, letting the attacker bypass intended proportion checks and remove assets. Raydium said the old program was phased out in 2021 and unavailable through its interface. Its mainnet programs are now undergoing a separate security review after the incident.

Canton Developer Raises $355 Million for Banks

Digital Asset raised $355 million to expand Canton Network, its blockchain for regulated capital markets and institutional tokenization at bank scale. A16z crypto led the round, joined by ABN Amro, Apollo, BNP Paribas, Citadel Securities, HSBC, SBI Group and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority through a subsidiary.

The raise topped a reported $300 million target and valued the firm around $2 billion in private markets. Canton is built for banks trading tokenized bonds, loans and funds with privacy, compliance and interoperability. The deal follows large funding rounds for Stripe’s Tempo and Circle’s Arc infrastructure.

Paradigm Challenges GENIUS Act Stablecoin AML Rules

Paradigm and the Hyperliquid Policy Center urged FinCEN and OFAC to narrow proposed stablecoin AML rules under the GENIUS Act. They warned that making issuers responsible for secondary-market transfers could push regulated dollar tokens away from permissionless DeFi and weaken onchain liquidity for users directly.

The groups said issuers should monitor primary customer relationships, not every wallet, protocol or validator that later touches a token. Industry observers said overly broad duties could create noisy reports, offshore infrastructure and confusion over who controls compliance after stablecoins circulate across DeFi markets globally.

Data of the Day

Bernstein said the FIFA World Cup could become the largest catalyst yet for prediction markets, adding $5 billion to $10 billion in consumer volume. Analysts said the 48-team format creates 104 matches and unusually rich inventory during a slower sports-betting window for operators worldwide now.

DraftKings, Robinhood and Coinbase are positioned to benefit because they already control large consumer distribution and payments funnels. Bernstein said Kalshi led May volumes with 57% share, while Polymarket declined sharply. The firm projects prediction-market volume could reach $240 billion in 2026 across platforms overall.

More Breaking News

• Coinbase launched Coinbase for Agents, letting AI assistants trade crypto, access account data and later spend through user-defined limits, isolated controls and x402 payments.
• DOJ charged two men over AudiA6, an alleged crypto laundering service that processed $389 million while advertising trace-hiding tools through Dark2Web’s cybercrime forum online.
• Delaware advanced a bill banning crypto ATMs statewide, requiring machines to go offline immediately and be physically removed within 90 days if approved by lawmakers.
• Hungary plans to decriminalize crypto trading, reversing 2025 rules that threatened unauthorized conversions with prison terms and pushed platforms like Revolut to suspend services.
• Ondo Finance hired former Invesco ETF chief John Hoffman to build tokenized portfolios, extending beyond stocks, Treasuries and existing onchain investment products for institutions.
• Japan advanced a bill classifying crypto as financial instruments, tightening market oversight while potentially cutting gains tax from 55% to 20% like stocks and bonds.
• A Canadian man pleaded guilty after a teen crypto scam stole more than $13 million, funding Lamborghinis, BMWs, private jets and Miami spending sprees.
• Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 launch drew backlash over fast token burn, hidden research-task degradation and mandatory 30-day data retention across platforms and cloud providers.

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